Reliance on
traditional white collar jobs is steadily declining globally as economies
learn to accept the existence of the blue collar and skills-based self-employment.
This unforeseen change is ostensibly driven by the increased rates of unemployment, particularly among the youth, who form a majority of the populations across nations.
Under this scenario, the jobless young people are forced to turn to socially unacceptable and immoral practices such as drug abuse, theft and prostitution in a bid to make “quick money.”
For three decades, our country has relied on the 8-4-4 system of Education that has all through focused heavily on theoretical knowledge with minimal practical applications and with examinations being the only measure of success.
The system has been churning out graduates who were unprepared for the job market, as it created a significant mismatch between skills and available employment opportunities, with statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicating that as of 2023, Kenya’s unemployment rate was at 5.7 per cent up from 4.9 percent in 2022.
Since 2011, the country has continued to produce more and more graduates who are quickly thrust into a very competitive job market as they join thousands of other unemployed graduates in competing for the few available job opportunities.
This scenario is majorly, attributable to the mismatch between academic courses undertaken and the available jobs in the market locally, a clear indication of the inadequacies of the 8-4-4 system in addressing unemployment of the young people who are the majority of the population.
To arrest this situation, the country recently adopted a new system of education, the Competency-based Curriculum (CBC), customized to take care of the ever-recently changing technological advancements with embedded possible opportunities for self-employment.
Kenya introduced the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in 2017 after recommendations by the Dr. Kilemi Mwiria-led Taskforce on Curriculum Reforms. The task force report highlighted the need to align education with the demands of the 21st century's economy and society.
Spearheaded by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), CBC was designed to address the shortcomings of the 8-4-4 system. After a successful piloting programme the system was finally rolled out in all the schools in the country.
The CBC emphasizes practical learning and aims at equipping learners with seven core competencies among them: communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving, self-efficacy, creativity and imagination, citizenship, digital literacy, and the ability to learn how to learn.
The main goal of this system is to produce holistic, well-rounded individuals while promoting self-employment, innovation, and entrepreneurship, which are key factors in tackling unemployment.
Unlike the 8-4-4 system that depended on one-off examinations as the only measure of success, the CBC system, anchored under a 2-6-3-3-3 model uses continuous assessments done at each level with 100 percent transition, allowing students to progress at their own pace and ensuring a more comprehensive evaluation of their abilities.
The CBC adopts a learner-centered approach, emphasizing practical skills and creativity over theory and examination based grading approach. It is based on a new grading system with four main categories namely; Exceeding Expectations(EE), Meeting Expectations(ME), Approaching Expectations(AE) and Below Expectations(BE). Each of the categories is designed in a way to measure how much a student has been able to achieve for each strand, formerly topic, and substrand, formerly named sub topic.
Students engage in hands-on activities as a way of learning how to solve real world problems while discovering and nurturing their talents in areas such as arts, sports, and technical skills.
One of CBC's key advantages is its alignment with the needs of the job market. By focusing on practical skills, it prepares learners for technical and vocational-based careers, reducing the divergence between education and labor market demands.
It also promotes self-employment by equipping learners with entrepreneurial skills, enabling them to create jobs for themselves and others rather than solely seeking formal employment.
CBC supports holistic development by nurturing learners’ talents from the onset to produce an all-round individual who is open minded and ready to approach life’s challenges in the most dynamic way.
The government has in collaboration with various development partners, both nationally and internationally, made significant investments to ensure successful implementation of CBC. The partnership will guarantee that no learner is left behind and that the necessary infrastructure is put in place.
Teacher training has been revolutionized with Teacher Training Colleges being restructured to ensure they meet the set guidelines on the implementation of the new curriculum and teacher trainees receive the necessary training.
Graduate teachers are also required to regularly attend workshops and seminars organized by various stakeholders, such as the TSC and KICD to learn more about the curriculum since they are the key implementers.
The main aim of such forums is to enhance teacher preparedness and share out on the findings or areas of concern.
Public awareness campaigns have also fostered greater community support for the CBC.
Seminars and workshops have been held with parents and the general public being invited to learn more about the new curriculum and the ways in which they are expected to help support the full implementation of the same.
The key component of CBC’s success has been its integration with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
The expansion of TVET institutions underscores the country's dedication to equipping its youth with practical skills tailored to meet labor market demands.
The results from the graduates of these institution are evident and this gives hope of a better tomorrow for our youth once they successfully go through the CBC system of education.
Samuel Maina Njuguna works at the Office of Government Spokesperson as a Volunteer.
